26 June 2008 - Child Safety Week 23rd – 29th June 2008
Firefighters in the Lothians and Borders are driving forward the fire safety message to young people in the area during the current Child Safety Week 23rd – 29th June 2008.
Complementing the work already carried out by the Service in schools throughout the region, the drive will focus on children from schools which are not currently part of the targeted education programme ongoing throughout the year.
Fire safety work is an important part of Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service. This work includes education programmes, events in the community, Home Safety Checks and also, very importantly, work with young people through projects such as the Cooldown Crew, Phoenix Programme and One-to-One Fire Setters.
David Mallin, Community Safety Manager for the Service said: “The information we work to provide young people with varies tremendously;
On one end of the scale are our firefighters visiting schools and explaining to children the dangers of fire and what to do in an emergency, and on the other is the work we do through the Cooldown Crew with young people who may have made mistakes, often through a lack of understanding of the dangers of making hoax calls, or setting fires. “
Mike Bridgman, Convener of the Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service Board said: “The Community Safety work carried out by the Service is very complex and extremely important. Starting from a very young age, a child could express an unusual interest in fire and continue in later years to set fires, whether as a prank or an experiment, only to find devastating consequences.
This is the sort of person that would benefit tremendously from the young fire setters programme, where a member of the Service will take the child through the dangers and show them the damage that fire can cause.”
Aside from the more complex areas of child fire safety, there are the basic and fundamental messages that cannot be repeated to children enough.
- fire is not something to play with or to play near
- never play with lighters or matches
- know what your smoke alarm sounds like and what it means - why not get them to check it once a week with you, or if they are a teenager, give them the responsibility to check it?
- children should know never to hide if a fire breaks out - those who come to rescue them may not be able to find them
If you run a club or group of young people who would be interested in learning about fire safety, the Service will be very happy to talk to them about the dangers of fire, hoax calls, and fire setting. The Service’s freephone number 0800 169 0320 can be called to arrange such visits, to provide fire safety advice or to arrange a free Home Fire Safety Check.
For more information on fire safety visit www.lbfire.org.uk or www.dontgivefireahome.org.uk
Enquiries: Nicole Carter, Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service
Tel. 0131 228 2401
|
Home |
